Gmail

The day before yesterday I received a very nice g-mail from someone I'd never heard from before. It was titled "Small World?"

Look what this very nice person wrote to me.

"I have been avidly reading your blog for some time now, and I must say I thoroughly enjoy your everyday happenings, and your explanations of your customs.

And now reading in our local paper... I came across the name of Leiya Watanabe. When I first read it I wondered, could it possibly be your daughter?? She is pictured with some of her winning artwork, and she is going to school at our ... High School. We live in ... Ohio. (the same town) She looks like such a nice little girl, and is quite the artist. Well, if this is your daughter, I must say this is a small world, and I am truly amazed.
And again I so enjoy reading your daily entries in your blog."

I'm the one who is amazed and it was so nice of this nice lady to write and let me know she had read about Leiya. By the way, I hadn't heard this news yet about Leiya getting her name in the newspaper. She hadn't gotten around to telling me that she had some art exhibited at an art show. When I related this story to my mother-in-law, she was ecstatic!

"There's never been anyone in our family who has gotten their name in the newspaper! She is becoming famous!" (remember, my mother-in-law does not understand the concept of computers, Internet, g-mail and blogging.)

How global we are becoming! Leiya in her small town in Ohio, me out in the countryside of Japan yet tied together even by blog readers and friends! This connection thoroughly brought a smile to my day!